Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-02
A LEAK IN A "DOBY."
what to do When Rain Comes
Through the Ceiling.

Through the Ceiling.
When the roof of your "doby'
leaks in this territory the native can
always remedy the trouble with a
bent pin, ten feet of twine and a bit OF
a broom handle.
If the ceiling of any room becomes
discolored with smoke or otherwise
loses the white purity which must al
ways distinguish the interior OF "a
room for rent" the same native has a
remedy which is as effective as it is
novel. He takes down the ceiling,
puts it in the washtub, and after thor
oughly cleansing it restores it to its
proper position. AS leaks in roofs
necessarily have close connection
with room ceilings, simultaneously
gained my knowledge OF both occult
remedies during rainstorm the other
night.
When l came here l found that
nine-tenths OF the population lived in
rented rooms, and that l must do
likewise, unless l wanted to pay
$3.50 per week for board. So hired
spotless white room in DOLBY and
went to bed in one corner of it, with
out thinking for an instant that l
would be inconvenienced by the
heavy rain storm prevailing. l
changed my mind about midnight,
when a stream of water worked its
way through the mud roof and drop
ped squarely down on my head as |
lay sleeping in bed. got up at once
and prosecuted search for match,
while another stream played on my
back. lighted my lamp, and then
saw that about q dozen streams were
coming through the ceiling. AS my
room opened on the road, after the
manner OF all Mexican dobies, l was
compelled to dress myself, fish an UNI
brella out of my trunk and go out into
the storm to get into the next room,
where my aged and Celtic landlady
reposed.
"An' has that roof bruk loose agin?
Well, now, Jest wait brace O. minnits
till get some clothes on, an I'll COON
to ye," she said, as she opened her
door in response to my exasperated
knocks. In four minutes she emerged
into the storm, carrying two lamps,
and rushed into my room. First she
lighted all the lamps and put them
around the room so she could see we'll
to do the work ahead. A glance at the
scene of action, vigorous oath and a
plunge at the bed followed in quick
succession. She put the foot tub to
catch the stream of water that was
wetting the bed clothing, glared at me
reproachfully and then went to work.
From the bottom of the washstand
she brought forth a string and about
three feet of an old broom handle.
The articl les, it seems, are always kept
ready for use in every DOLBY house in
New Mexico. Dragging the table to
the center of the room my landlady
put chair on it and said with bust
ness-like sharpness:
Nov, young man. s'pose you jest
turn your back around entoirely"
1 faced about and the lady scram-
bled to the table and thence to the
chair, comfortably assured that l had
not caught a glimpse of her venerable
ankles. When looked slyly over my
shoulder she was bending pin at
right angles between her teeth. Then
she tied the string to the pin and
reached up to the ceiling and stuck
the pin in. 1 was startled to see the
ceiling bulge downward, and then for
the first time perceived that. instead
of being white plaster as l had sup
posed, it was of white muslin. Hay
ing attached the pin SO that it would
not slip, the landlady leaped down
with the other end of the string in her
hand. To this end she fastened the
piece OF broom handle, and left it
swaying gently before my eyes.
Needless of my questions, she seized
a broom and went around the room
gazing critically at the ceiling. Here
and there were little blister-like pro-
tuberances, where the water had ac-
cumulated in little pockets. Each of |
these the woman pushed upward until |
the water ran toward the lower level
around the point where the pin pene-
trated the muslin ceiling. The weight |
of the wooden stick on the end of the |
string, of course, pulled the muslin |
downward, making hollow over the |
center of the room large enough to |
accommodate all the little pockets.
When the water had thus been ac-
cumulated in the central reservoir l |
saw small stream flowing from the |
end of the swaying broomstick.
"All the water will run down to the |
pin now, me dear, and thin down the
string to the broom handle and thin
down the broom handle to this bucket,
and thin you'll have no more trouble,
eff you'll fist keep away entoirely from
against the bucket" announced the
woman, oracularly.
1t was even 80. When she had put |
dry clothing on my bed and left me l
turned in again and went to sleep in
comfort under roof that was full of
holes. In the morning the bucket
placed Just under the pendant broom
was full of water, but the room was
thoroughly dry. By daybreak it cleared
I'D and the women's "man" was
shoveling an extra cart load OF earth
on the roof of my room.
"Now, Peter" l heard her call to
him, 'jist take and SOW half bushel
o. grass seed there, SO that we will
have fresh sod before the next rain
comes"
Peter sowed the grass seed while
Peters wife took down the muslin
which had been pasted around the
edges of the ceiling. She took it away
and washed it, and bringing it back
soaking wet, pasted and tackled it
into position. When 1 asked why it
was not dried before being put up, she
said that it was desirable to have it
wet, so that when it dried the shrink
age would make it taut. An enormous
fire dried my ceiling until it was as
white and smooth as the plaster OF an
Eastern domicile.
The landlady put away the pin and
string and bit of broom handle in the
bottom OF my wash-stand and said
respectfully:
."Now, then, young man, if things
spring leak agin you tend to 'em
vourself an, don't come arter me. /